Page 18 of Ice Cold Rival

Idle threat, I reminded myself and refused to glance back at him. When I cracked the door open, Amanda stood on the other side, fully dressed and scowling up at what I could only assume was the wild mess of my hair.

“Yes?”

She shifted her attention to try to peer past me, but I tilted my head to block her view. I wasn’t ready to dive headfirst into faking a relationship without at least a daytime conversation confirming it.

Her lips pinched when she couldn’t get a clear view, and she finally addressed me. “Mandatory house meeting this afternoon. Three o’clock.”

I was supposed to meet my mom for a tennis match she insisted on playing at the hottest part of the day, but whatever fresh hell Amanda had come up with might actually be an improvement. “What about?”

“A refresher on proper party etiquette.”

It took everything in me to not roll my eyes. “Sorry, I can’t make it. I have plans with my mom.”

Amanda’s chin lifted, and she smiled. “Too bad. You know missing mandatory meetings means possible demerits.”

“Yes, Amanda. I’m aware.” Since I’d moved in, she’d found every excuse to assign me demerits, and if I accrued enough of them, she could go to the council with a request to have me removed from the house.

When I’d been dating Toby, she’d left me alone for the most part, but after the breakup, it was open season. My saving grace was a majority of the house needed to agree, and she hadn’t poisoned them all against me yet.

I opened my mouth to try for a civil goodbye, but a wave of heat engulfed my back, and a hand landed on the doorframe above my head. The shiver returned just in time for Reece to snake an arm around my waist.

Amanda’s eyes widened as they traveled up past my head then down to his arm tucked securely against my stomach, his fingers sneaking under my t-shirt. I swallowed the urge to slam the door in Amanda’s face and jump on my new accomplice.

“Morning,” he said, and I could feel the smirk in his tone.

Her eyes narrowed, and she offered him a tight smile before turning on her heel. I wiggled my fingers at her retreating back and seriously considered asking him to move in. If his presence kept her away from my bedroom, it would be worth sharing the bed.

I closed the door and turned to face what could prove to be a horrible mistake. Reece let me go, leaning against the door with a tilt to his head suggesting he knew I wanted to talk. Better to get the rejection over with now if it was going to happen. “Are we for sure doing this?”

He sent me an incredulous look. “You’re not backing out already, are you? Because Amanda is going to talk.”

I shook my head, tangling my fingers together. “No, but I thoughtyoumight want to. It will most likely cause problems between you and Toby, and my family can be a lot.”

He hooked an arm around my neck and hauled me close to brush a kiss against my temple. “There are already problems between me and Toby. You can’t scare me away. I’m in it for the long haul. As for your family, you need me, I’ll be there.”

I knew he had his own reasons for wanting this to work, but the unexpected support went straight to my heart. Tears pricked at my eyes as I sucked in a deep breath. My family expected me to support them, Toby expected me to support him, even my friends back at Easton had mostly taken without giving. When was the last time someone had offered to do something for me?

“I’ll keep that in mind.” I let my air out slowly, relaxing into his arms without thought.

Reece gave me a squeeze, then let me go a second time to put on his shoes. “Don’t forget the list. I’m happy to come up with things on my own, but you’ll probably have more fun if they’re your idea.”

“Do you want to help?” The question came out of nowhere, but I was nervous about him leaving. Stupid, but the whole night sort of felt like a fever dream.

“I’d love to stay and work on your list, or just intimidate a couple more of your housemates, but I have to get going.”

I let my eyes wander over his frame, lingering on the breadth of his shoulders and ending on his knowing smile. “Big waxing appointment?”

Reece let out a laugh. “Not quite. Conditioning.”

“Like your hair?”

He shook his head in awe. “A travesty. Your knowledge of college hockey is a travesty. We’re going to fix that.”

I wrinkled my nose, playing it up even though I knew perfectly well what conditioning was. “I can’t be expected to memorize every aspect of a hobby just because my ex was into it.”

His mouth dropped open. “A hobby? That’s it. I want a divorce.”

“We’re not married. Not even fake married. You’re welcome to go your own way at any time.”

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